+ Panic? No One's Panicking. +

[gryphonlore]

[ The Gryphon, today, is flying in circles around the mansion, swooping down low, looking down with a keen eye before rising up again, doing more circling, and finally landing on the roof. ]

It cannot find them. Not those.

[ He paces, a paw rubbing his forehead, monocle falling from his eye so that it's hanging by a chain. ]

When It does, what we are, what we exist to be could cease and I personally do not care for it!

[ That ends on a screech, mostly. The Gryphon is agitated and pacing, muttering to himself. ]

Four of six is bad enough but It won’t stop until--

[ The Gryphon stares at the camera now, too close and just out of focus. ]

Find Time. You must do this. Guard your Minds. Keep yellow and green. I am not sure what It will be or do. We should not find out.

[ A sound akin to frustration escapes the Gryphon’s beak as his wings flap. ]

It will not stop, but you must fight or...

[ He doesn’t know. Only that it will be Not Good. ]

...It will only take a Snap.

Comments

[holyshihtzu]

Yeah. There's a time and a place to be nice. This isn't it.

[ She frowns. ]

We don't know if this is a normal event, and there's a chance that Wonderland can't protect us this time. If half the universe is gone in Steve's reality, we can't know for sure that whoever has the stones didn't find a way through to this one. [ She's catastrophizing and she knows it, but this is bigger than anything she's encountered in Wonderland before. ] If we die, it could be permanent.

[oneagainstall]

It sure fuckin' isn't. We gotta focus on not fuckin' dying.

[It's concerning- that this is clearly a fight Steve didn't win. Most of the Wonderland events have some sort of conclusion. They have an ending that Wonderland can stretch to- to wrap up an event in a neat little bow. This isn't the case here, and it's...not comforting. ]

So this might be the actual fucker that Steve fought? Fantastic. [It would only be worse if the Adversary showed up.] I got experience with those kinds. The ones that tear the fuck out of everything they can- if those sorts want us dead for good? Then we'll be dead for good.

[There isn't another world he can run to this time.]

We just gotta keep going long as we can.

[holyshihtzu]

[ Juliet glances down, her tough facade fading for a moment. ]

I don't have any experience with those kinds.

[ What is ahead of them is daunting, but Gren is right - they have to keep going. ]

But we don't have any other choice.

[oneagainstall]

Damn right we don't. Alternative is just lying down and dying, and I ain't much one for that kinda shit. If I'm going down, I'm going down fuckin' fighting.

[It's part of his narrative, doesn't matter which side he's fighting on- it's who he is. Beowulf would have been a much different story if he just ran off the second the beardy motherfucker turned up.]

We'll do what we gotta do.

[holyshihtzu]

We'll be okay. And if we're not...

[ She tilts her head, smiling softly. ]

You've been a really great friend, Gren.

[oneagainstall]

God's fuckin' sake don't do this goodbye shit we'll be fine.

[But Juliet is human. And mortal. And this is going to be bad. He hesitates.]

...But yeah. Ditto.

[holyshihtzu]

[ She's not sure why, but something in her heart tells her it's not going to be fine. So many people here are swamp monsters, or witches, or superheroes. She's just a normal girl, and the world has never felt quite as big and scary as it does right now. ]

I know. [ He doesn't ever have to actually say it. She always knows. ]

[oneagainstall]

[He hates this. He hates that this is going to be awful and she's very likely going to die, because there's no goddamn way Juliet is going to go and hide when she can be protecting people.]

I guess I'll see you when this is all done?

[holyshihtzu]

Yeah. I'll see you when it's done.

[ And before she has the chance to get emotional, she ends the feed. ]